Shan Masood addresses Babar Azam’s insipid Test form after embarrassing series defeat versus Bangladesh

Pakistan's red-ball skipper Shan Masood came to the aid of Babar Azam after the latter had a disappointing series against Bangladesh with the bat. In the four innings Babar played in the series, he could only score 64 runs at an abysmal average of 16. Notably, Pakistan lost their first-ever Test series against Bangladesh as they were defeated by a 0-2 margin, suffering defeats in both the games played.

Babar's meagre performance in the series drew him immense criticism from the fans as well as experts. However, Masood stood in support of the former captain, emphasising on the importance of giving longer ropes to players in the red-ball arena.

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“We will have to work on bringing in consistency in selection. You will have to bear with player’s failures. It’s not just about Babar Azam, the more consistently you give a chance to someone, the better he will perform," Masood said in the post-match press conference after Pakistan lost the second and final Test by six wickets.

You will have to search where you will get that player who can be an automatic selection on current form. Since, we’re not playing red ball cricket currently, we don’t have many options to pick from. We played the same team which we took to Australia and was successful for Pakistan domestically and at international level," he added.

Notably, Babar has not added to his 26 half-centuries in the longest format in his last 16 innings. During this phase, his best score is only 41. The Lahore-born has scored 331 runs in the same time period at an average of 20.68.

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Pakistan are winless in their last 10 Tests at home after the defeat in the second encounter, which ended on Tuesday, September 3. The challenge only gets tougher for the Asian giants as they host England for a three-match Test series next month. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will celebrate their monumental series victory before embarking on a trip to India to play two Tests and three T20Is against Rohit Sharma's men, starting later this month.